Lula's lawyers accuse Meta of bias toward Bolsonaro days before Brazil's presidential runoff

Summary

Five days after leftwing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva lost the first round of Brazil's presidential election, his Instagram posts could not be boosted for almost 24 hours, while his opponent, far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, could boost his, The Guardian reports. Lula's lawyers included the episode in a list of incidents submitted to the electoral court and international observers as evidence that Meta, Instagram's owner, was actively trying to interfere in the election in Bolsonaro's favour. Lula's supporters suspect the tech firm of meddling on behalf of US President Donald Trump, who has close ties to the Bolsonaro family. Al Jazeera reports that the two candidates are also seeking to disqualify each other ahead of the runoff, with legal attacks involving the messaging service WhatsApp and its parent company Meta, and that critics have accused Meta of censoring Lula's campaign and favouring Bolsonaro.

Timeline

1. Al Jazeera

   21 Oct 2026, 04:58 UTCSource ↗

   Al Jazeera reports that Lula and Bolsonaro are seeking to disqualify each other ahead of the runoff, with legal attacks involving the messaging service WhatsApp and its parent company Meta.

2. The Guardian

   21 Oct 2026, 05:00 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian reports that Lula's lawyers submitted a list of incidents to the electoral court and international observers, including a nearly 24-hour period when Lula could not boost his Instagram posts while Flávio Bolsonaro could, as evidence that Meta was trying to interfere in Bolsonaro's favour.

3. Al Jazeera

   21 Oct 2026, 18:14 UTCSource ↗

   Al Jazeera's feature reports that critics have accused the tech giant Meta of censoring President Lula's political campaign and favouring Bolsonaro, making social media an election issue in the race.